Leaders impacting the plant-based industry gathered for a panel at Pittsburgh Yards on Wednesday to discuss the power of food and the power of choice. Organized by the Urban Oak Initiative, a nonprofit providing plant-based meals and education for South Atlanta, the panel featured Kevin “Chef Kev” McGee, executive director and founder of the Urban Oak Initiative; Leslie Zinn, CEO and founder of Arden’s Garden; and Kemi Bennings, founder of Carrot Dog. International speaker and author Kafi London moderated the panel.
Over 40 people sat in the audience as they were challenged to examine their relationships with food, particularly soul food, and learn about the journey of entrepreneurship in the plant-based space. From starches with lots of meat and little vegetables to more of a fast food diet, the panelists discussed how the way their plates looked growing up influenced the understanding of their palates of today.
For many people in the Black community, soul food looks and tastes a certain way, with classic dishes always at the helm, but McGee said that idea limits his expression as a chef.
“We have to begin to challenge those types of perceptions about soul food. Soul food isn’t the actual food. So it isn’t the rib, it isn’t the oxtail. It’s the preparation method, it’s the history, it’s the love, it’s the culture,” McGee said. “So we can have vegan dishes that are soul food. I think we just have to kind of reimagine how we perceive our food.”
The reimagining of food and turning it into a business looked different for each entrepreneur. Bennings shared how she went from a nurse to cooking for Kimerly Elise and Tyler Perry. McGee went from working in banking to the culinary space and increasing access to plant-based food. Zinn’s journey with Arden’s Garden started with a juicer her mom bought, which grew into selling juices in hair salons, then a plant, and now multiple locations in the Atlanta area in underserved communities.
“People in underserved areas need to have access to fresh food, and if you provide that access, they will come and support your business. That’s what we have seen, and so it is now part of our pillars,” Zinn said. “We believe in good health for all, not just good health for people who have money.”
The panelists encouraged people to be more intentional about the food they consume. Bennings addressed the history of health issues in the Black community, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, and the importance of slowly changing food lifestyles in families.
“There are things that we can do, diet-related, to help us stay healthy or live longer. And that’s something that we not only have to do for ourselves, but pass that to generations,” Bennings said. “I do feel like we’re in a really unique time where people are slowly, but surely, choosing ourselves, choosing our wellness, choosing our happiness, choosing our joy, and I think part of the plant-based industry is really helping with that.”